Tree for screening

[EmmaGrundyForPM]

Hi, we would like to plant a tree to screen out the view of a house behind us. We'd place it so it doesn't affect them.

We'd prefer an evergreen, we already havd a eucalyptus but I'm not a fan. I was wondering about a strawberry tree, but I'm concened that they don't grow very quickly. We definitely vdontbwant a conifer.

Ideally we'd like a tree with a good, thick crown to provide as much screening as possible, and which is fast growing. The other possibility, although its deciduous, is a linden tree but I don't know how easy they are to grow.

Any recommendations please?

Photinia, lovely leaf colour and look stunning all year.

Thanks, we've got some photinias in the garden but they're not tall enough. I'd like a tree rather than a shrub if possible. Happy to pay for a mature one (up to £400 for the right one).

I'm in the same situation. I was thinking about an evergreen magnolia, but they are not that fast growing.

Waiting for other suggestions!

How high do you want it and how big is your garden? The issue with trees is they get tall but they also get wide and then take up a lot of space with shade underneath and you need to watch the root system and how close to properties it can be planted

Avoid photenia as they can go leggy and see through.
Try a mature Portugese laurel or perhaps Cotoneaster. Lovely red berries in winter and evergreen. Grow to between 4m-5m tall.

We have a holly oak. Not sure how fast growing they are but they are evergreen and provide good screening.

How far from your houses are the trees going to be planted?

Linden are either native or naturalised having arrived a long time ago - I currently have running through my head one of several Elizabethan songs which mention Linden

When you say, "We definitely don't want a conifer" do you mean all conifers or is it more a case of definitely not Leylandii?

How high and wide will the tree need to be to achieve the screening required?

A hornbeam would work well. It’s not evergreen but it holds its dead leaves until the new ones come out so is good for screening. It’s happy to pruned into a shape if you want and it can be cut back hard if it gets too big.

I hope you have an absolutely gigantic garden OP, do you know how big eucalyptus grow?!?!?!

Holly grows like a weed in our garden. How about one of the vigorous variagated varieties? They don't mind being pruned to shape

We bought our house last year, the eucalyptus is about 50 ft tall I think. I know they grow tall which is why I don't want another one.

Our garden is about 60 feet deep, and the tree would need to be about halfway down, and ideally 10 - 12 feet tall within a couple of years.

I'm not keen on conifers as they don't spread out, or have leaves. I'm looking for a tree that will be attractive to look at.

It might depend where you are in the country.
My photinas are small. I’m in W Scotland.
Laurel would grow tall if you didn’t prune it - think mine must be 15ft. Evergreen. Also prunus Lusitania but is shrubby rather than tree. But should be evergreen.

10-12 is not tall for a tree. Acer campestre is not too big, rowan, Amelachier but is slower growing. But these are not evergreen.

You could try a tree fern. It gives the canopy at the top but only a trunk lower down, so protects garden space as it’s a small garden and gets to about 12 foot in height.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/5794/dicksonia-antarctica/details

alternatively a pleached tree. But sadly uou don’t get much for 400 quid and if you get the wrong tree it will take up a large part of your garden. You also need to be careful on size so the roots can’t come close to the house.

Once you exclude conifers you generally get either a dense evergreen canopy or fast growing, but not both.

You could choose a slower growing tree for the long-term and plant a silver birch 10' behind it. A silver birch will grow quickly, look pretty, and will give screening in summer and autumn. Once the permanent tree has grown to size you can then remove the silver birch.

PS.
See several other threads in this section of the forum for opinions on Eucalyptus. It's very much a marmite tree and there's usually a slight majority of responses in favour of felling on sight.

I'm not keen on conifers as they don't spread out, or have leaves I see what you mean, but a conifer without leaves would be dead! (Unless it was one of the deciduous ones like larch or swamp cypress)

Yes, a lot are conical, but there are different shapes.

Silver birches grow enormous though, she’d need to be very careful as if not managed correctly and the right type, it could impact the house and also take up a large percentage of her garden, as she wants to plant it 30 foot from her house,

it’s a tough ask, evergreen, low budget, small garden, non of the usual culprits, I’d consider bamboo in a pot

something like this, it comes at 10 foot already , can grow to double that, and will spread fast in a huge pot. The additional money can be used for the pot. You can also trim the lower limbs so it is just canopy.

https://www.charellagardens.co.uk/bamboo-plants/large-bamboo-plants/extra-large-golden-bamboo-plnats-bamboo-aureosulcata-spectabilis/

alternatively two or three smaller ones, which are already at rhe 8 foot size , as they grow about 3 foot a year.

https://www.charellagardens.co.uk/bamboo-plants/large-bamboo-plants/extra-large-bamboo-phyllostachys-aurea-3-metres/

Silver birches grow enormous though, she’d need to be very careful as if not managed correctly and the right type, it could impact the house and also take up a large percentage of her garden, as she wants to plant it 30 foot from her house,

I did clearly suggest it as a temporary solution until a slower growing tree could fulfil the brief. Trees do not need to be permanent. You are allowed to chop them down once they've fulfilled their purpose.

OP, you know the spread of a eucalyptus is also enormous?

We have put in a bay tree to do this job.

Yes, the one that's already in situ hides some of the houses behind. It's tempting to plant another one but I'd rather not. I don't particularly like them.

The house we've bought has a row of 3 storey houses immediately behind the back fence. which were built last year. The developer has put in a row of pleached hornbeams along the back fence which are about 12 feet high, so don't screen the top floor. If we put a couple of standard trees half way down our garden then they will do the screening without needing to be too tall.

The eucalyptus is against the back fence, it's been there about 20 years and block all the light into 2 of the houses. Obviously the tree was there first, but I don't want to cause misery to the neighbours further along by planting another one right in front of their (first floor) living room windows.

If there is a large shrub or tree half way down the garden, we can screen out the view without causing any issues for neighbours. I just need to find the right one

I was going to suggest a Holly too- pretty flowers this time of year and gorgeous berries in the winter. It’s evergreen, and some varieties will grow pretty large, but it’s doesn’t grow rampantly fast.

Laurels grow fast, and although usually a hedging plant, they make great trees.

we grew ours by taking out the lower branches as it grew so the bulk was at the top. Evergreen, very dense and lovely to look at (I think).

I have a beautiful pendular silver birch, approx 20 yrs old, about 15 ft tall, you can easily prune them, mine is quite wide as l have the room.
I also grow a lovely time climber Solarum, very pretty, flowers for ages, grows fast, umbrella shape, can get bare at the bottom, but blocks out overlooking houses, l do have to trim it but worth it.